Sam and Khule (English only)

Samuel and Khulekani are best friends and I used to teach their class.

One day I was on my way from the centre of Verulam, that Waterloo belongs to (police station, post office, social office, etc.) and it was during school hours. There along the road I saw Samuel and Khulekani..., so I stopped to pick them up. They were embarassed, but got in. "We had to take my brother to the clinic, mam.." Yeah, right!

We started talking and continued as we got back to the school, and they told me how they struggled at school... "Mam, we can't read..." WHAT???? "You're in grade 9, and you can't read???!!!" "No, mam..."

A good few months later I got some friends help me transport 16 of my kids to the church I attend on Sunday evenings, Grace, where the youth had invited to an evening with Nick Vujicic at our church. (Check out the web page www.lifewithoutlimbs.org) One of those friends that helped out taking the kids to and from church that night, was my friend Kath. She is a speech therapist. I pointed to Khulekani, telling her that he couldn't read. Kath was really surprised, since Khule is in grade 9. But she said she'd meet up with him and see if there was anything she could do for him.

Two times we met up with her and she gave homework that I would help Khule with. But every time we practised Sam came and looked and listened when we practiced, and one day he said: "Mam, I can't read either..." I had only thought of Khule, 'cause he was eager for me to teach him how to drive a car... :)

Next time Sam came along. Sam had told me: "When I started school, I didn't earn how to read. So my parents took me to the sangoma (witch doctor). She did her thing, but couldn't heal me. She just told my parents that I would never read in my life.., so I don't know if it's going to work.."
I told him that we would pray, that nothing is impossible for God! God is more powerful than anything and capable of more than we will ever dream of!

The first time Sam came to reading class with Kath, he started reading. Yes, it was only words like hat, mat, rat, cat, fat but HE WAS READING!!!
I had tears in my eyes!
That minute it dawned on Sam that what he and his family had believed for so many years, what the sangoma had told them, was all lies...

We're meeting Kath now once a week. Sam is learning so fast now, and Khulekani as well. Now they are reading little stories!!!
Kath has been SO, SO good with them! And God has been faithful and good!

I asked Sam after one of the sessions, when I was dropping them back at Waterloo, if no-one had tried to help him learn how to read all these nine years, like giving him some special attention when they saw that he wasn't reading or writing. He said: "No, mam, you're the first one.."
I'm wondering how that can be???!!! How come, he's been schooling for at least 9 years, and NO-ONE HAS HELPED HIM BEFORE????

Now we are helping him them. They know that there are people that care, and that God cares. God wants to give them a hope and a future!

I absolutely LOVE these sessions with Kath and the boys, 'cause I can see it on their faces that they really have new hope! And the time between school and the session with Kath, we hang out, either at my place or at the beach or somewhere like that. It's good time to talk about life, what has been and what will be, about challenges in life, about the Bible and so on. Good times! :)

Sam and Khule are both part of our Bible group and come to our church most or every Sunday! :) Soon they will be able to read what is on the power point slides, the text of the worship songs, and most importantly the Bible!!!

(And can anyone tell me how I can get rid of the underline here..??? I seriously don't get it...)

Zulu course! Zulu-kurs!

This last semester I have attended a Zulu course at the University. I heard that a friend of mine, Rose, had signed up, so I joined her! :)

Det siste semesteret har jeg gått på Zulu-kurs på universitetet. Jeg hørte at ei venninne i
menigheten hadde meldt seg på, så jeg hang meg like godt på! :)

But let me tell you! Zulu is DIFFICULT!!!

Men la meg bare si det, at zulu er VANSKELIG!!!

Here are some of the words I have learned, see if you can get your tongue around them..! Her er noen av ordene jeg har lært! Se om du klarer å uttale de..!

Sawubona = Hello (really: I see you!) Hei (men egentlig: Jeg ser deg!)

Ngiya kuluma isiZulu = I am talking Zulu! Jeg snakker zulu!

Ngiya funda = I am studying/reading. Jeg studerer/leser.

Ngizo pheka inyama = I will cook meat. Jeg skal lage kjøtt.

Angipheka = I can’t cook. Jeg kan ikke lage mat.

I really want to learn, but that requires practice! There is no easy fix.. :( However, it has been good to be around Zulu speaking people every day, ‘cause I get a lot of the intonation for free! :) And one of my kids has given me a list of words to learn!

Jeg ønsker virkelig å lære meg zulu, men jeg må øve! Ingen enkel løsning.. :) Men det har vært bra å være med folk som snakker zulu hver dag, for jeg får inn uttalen helt gratis! :) En av ungene mine har gitt meg en liste med ord han synes jeg bør lære!

Top picture is my teacher Thokozani. She is really GOOD! And she is realaxed, but still kicking us gently in the butt! :) She added to the many laughs we had in the class!!!

Next picture is my friend Rose and Thabo. Thabo is not Zulu, he is Swathi (I think..), and aparently it is so different from Zulu that he has to come to class... all because of a Zulu girlfriend! ;)

Det øverste bildet er av læreren min, Thokozani, og hun er skikkelig god! Hun er avslappet, men gir oss kjærlige spark bak når hun mener vi er trenger det! :)) Hun har også bidratt til mange av latterkulene vi har hatt i klassen!!!
Neste bilde er av venninnen min, Rose, og av Thabo. Thabo er ikke zulu, han er swathi (synes jeg å huske...), og det er visst nok så forskjellig fra zulu at han må gå på kurs... alt for en zulukjæreste! ;))

It has been SUCH a blast learning Zulu with this gang! We've so connected on the humor level!
We were 12 in the beginning, but the number dropped to a few dedicated 7 towards the end! I hope to do the next level starting from February 2009! :)

Det har vært SÅ gøy å lære zulu med denne gjengen! Vi koblet så veldig på humor!!! I begynnelsen var vi ca 12, men antallet falt til 7 få hengitte mot slutten! Jeg håper å kunne ta kurs nummer 2 fra februar 2009! :))

Noel

Mange av dere husker at jeg sendte ut en lettere desperat mail tidligere i høst. Og mange av dere ga respons på den mailen. Det gjaldt å hjelpe Noel, som måtte frakte sin avdøde søster hjem til Zimbabwe for å begrave henne.

La meg fortelle…

Noel hadde en søster og en bror, og det var alt etter at foreldrene døde for noen år siden. I Afrikansk målestokk, en liten søskenflokk. Noel er den eldst av de tre, som alle hadde kommet til Sør-Afrika for å finne et bedre liv enn det de hadde i det istykkerrevne landet sitt Zimbabwe. Noel fant jobb i Durban og broren og søsteren i Johannesburg. Søsteren fikk både jobb og rom hos en indisk familie, og kjente seg heldig. Så plutselig ble hun funnet død en morgen, med gul fråde i munnvikene… 24 år gammel.

Det er ikke lett å være Zimbabwer i Sør-Afrika. De blir beskyldt for å komme og ta jobbene fra de andre afrikanerne. Vanlig fremmedhat finnens overalt. For å frakte døde fra Sør-Afrika til Zimbabwe skal begravelsesbyråene ha 8000,- SA Rand. Det er ca 6500,- NKR. For en servitør er det MYE penger, ALT FOR MYE penger! Slektningene til Noel og søsknene trakk seg unna da han ba om hjelp, for de hadde INGEN mulighet til å hjelpe, ingen i Zimbabwe har penger (bortsett fra Mugabe og gjengen..) og ingen sosialkontor å henvende seg til…

Det er grenser for hvor lenge man kan vente med å begrave en død person, og så kommer afrikanske tradisjoner, rutiner hos agenten, osv. i tillegg. Noel begynte å bli smådesperat. Flere av vennene til Noel i Johannesburg klarte å skrape sammen noe av pengene, noen kolleger og venner i Durban ga det de kunne, og mange av dere gav resten. Vi klarte å hjelpe Noel til å få søsteren hjem og begravet.

Da Noel kom tilbake fra Zimbabwe var han selvsagt trist, men han hadde ikke ord for hvor mye det hadde betydd for han at vi hjalp han med søsterens frakt og begravelse. ”Hvordan kan noen som ikke kjenner meg vise en sånn omtanke og kjærlighet??”

Ordrett fra Noel: ”Tusen, tusen, tusen takk!! Jeg vet ikke hva jeg skulle ha gjort uten dere! Hvordan kan jeg noensinne få takket dere nok? Jeg vet ikke hva jeg kan gjøre til gjengjeld..?”

Tusen takk til dere som gav! For oss er det ofte bare snakk om ett par hundrelapper, som vi ikke merker noe til. Men for Noel, betød det noe ENORMT!! Og gjennom at vi gav, har Noel fått tro på at det fines en Gud som bryr seg om hans konkrete behov! Takk til dere og takk til Gud!

Dere som ber, be for Noel litt denne Julen. Han jobber mye, ofte dobbelt, for å betale tilbake de som lånte han pengene.

I etterkant av begravelsen til søsteren, har kona skilt seg fra han. Hun og familien hadde ”blitt enige om” at han var for fattig for henne… Han har hatt mye hjertesmerte, som ikke er lett å deale med. Vær med å løft han opp til Gud!

Landshakers!!!!!

In September we started the church LANDSHAKERS!!! We had NO idea what expect, other than that God would be there! :D how many others would show up was hard to tell. However, on the first day we had about 25 on the "adult" side and at least the double on the children's side.
Then it went down... One Sunday we had 4 kids in the adult service. But then we started pushing more into prayer.. :) Gues what happened?! God, yes God, started bringing more people to church, young and older... :) Now we're back to 30-ish!


This is the kid's side. We use powerpoint presentations, and since we don't have a band or any instruments, we use worship dvds from Hillsong! It works wonderfully!!! Mmm...









One Sunday it was my turn to preach!
(Why is it underlining my text???)
My topic was Jesus and his Kingdom, and I was not as lost in it as the pic would give the impression of.. :D
I really, really enjoyed it, even though I had too much I wanted to say, as always... So the power point presentation worked only untill I went outside of my notes, and realised I didnt have time for all those slides...
But hey, I know it reached the hearts!










Here are some of my kids! :)
I call them my kids because they are!
From the left:
Praiswell, the name fits him perfectly! He is one of my heros, and God is really working in him!
Wandy, a great girl that have come out of the miry clay and have had her feet put on the rock! :))
Melusi, a shy guy, but deep and also very funny! :D He asks really good questions at the Biblestudy group!
Sabelo, a guy who is growing up to be a strong, but humble, leader. Whatever he does is quality!


Last Sunday we had a "baby shower" at church! One of our young ladies is pregnant, and can have her baby any time now. She is not working and does nothave a lot, som since we are brothers and sisters, Landshakers gave her a HUGE "basket" of baby stuff! She was, needless to say, VERY happy! Which is also her name - Happy! :))






For those of oyu that pray to our mighty God, please remember Landshakers, the kids there and the leaders! Thanks a million!

Glimt. GLIMPSES!

Here are some of my friends and "family" :))


This is Lisa. She is from England, and she's just as pale as me... We're from the north of Europe, after all... :/
Lisa keeps me sane by just being a bit insane every now and then! And she makes me laugh! :D









This is Sbongakonke. He is one of my pupils in grade 8 at the school I work at. He wants to be an airplane technician, and he's able to do it! He's one of my really bright ones. He also comes to our church Landshakers, and to the Biblestudy. However life is not always easy for a teenager, and he needs to really focus, and to choose the right path in life, to stay out of trouble! Peer pressure can be hectic at times...
Also, he stays with his granny, has little to no contact with parents... Not easy!










Oh yes! We go WAY back! This evening, Rose's 30th birthday, we went all the way back to the 80's!
Can you tell from the picture who was a teenager during that horrific decade??!!! 2 out of 3...







More to come....

Kort up-date og to av ungene "mine" :)

Hei alle sammen!

Lenge siden dere har hørt fra meg, og SORRY! Jeg er ingen blogger av natur, men jeg har stadige ambisjoner om å bli MER lik en blogger, men hittil har jeg ikke hatt så mye tid til overs… Lei for det, folkens!

Siden sist har det sikkert skjedd mye… Men her er det i korte trekk:

Hadde avslutning av høstsemesteret på skolen med eksamenstid, var hjemme i Norge (Østlandet) på en snarvisitt, startet opp igjen med skole, trappet litt ned på undervisningstid (nå er det ”bare” 160 elever på 8.trinn som har meg, ingen undervisning på 9.trinn lenger), er allerede snart ved enden av tredje termin (av fire), og har nettopp startet menighet!

Skal se om jeg kan fortelle litt mer om det litt senere, men for dere som ber til Gud, hadde det vært HELMAX om dere joinet i bønn for den nye menigheten vi har dratt i gang! Det er MYE som skje når folk nåes med Gud kjærlighet og forstår Guds frelse! Det er en stadig kamp om unge menneskers liv, og der MÅ vi være mer aktive! Det skal vi (fortsette å) være!

Jeg har hatt lyst til å fortelle litt om noen av ungene mine:

Først Zanele. Hun ble litt spesiell for meg tidlig, da jeg leste litt av hennes historie. Jeg hadde gitt i lekse å skrive ett avsnitt om livet sitt og ett avsnitt om drømmene for framtiden. Der forteller Zanele at hun bor hos bestemoren. Det er samme situasjon som for MANGE av ungene her på skolen og ellers i SørAfrika. Zanele er opprinnelig fra Swaziland, men flyttet ned hit til Sør-Afrika fordi faren jobbet her og han syntes det var lite å se datteren bare i juleferien. Zanele har en mor, men inntil en uke siden hadde hun ikke sett henne på 3 år! Da kom hun plutselig på en snarvisitt..! Faren til Zanele døde for snart ett år siden, og hun har fortsatt å bo hos bestemoren. Der bor også kusinen som går i 12.klasse og to-åringen hennes. For de av dere som husker hvor liten leiligheten min i Bergen er, så er huset de bor i bare litt større enn den. I den lille familien er det ingen som jobber, og det går litt opp og ned med om de har mat i huset. Zanele er blitt med i en liten disippel-gruppe som vi har hver onsdag etter skolen. Det er en KJEMPEspennende gruppe! De har MANGE spørsmål – og dype spørsmål. Merker at de er genuint interessert i å finne ut hva som er sannheten! Denne er noe dere kan være med og be for! Nesten hver fredag tar jeg Zanele med på ungdomsmøte i menigheten der jeg går. Hun synes det er DIGG med lovsangen der – litt mer ”rocka” og ungdommelig enn det hun er vant med. Da sover hun over hos meg og blir av og til hele helgen. Da får jeg en liten smak av hvordan det er å være tenårings-forelder! Respekt til alle som er det på fulltid!!!

Den neste jeg vil fortelle litt om, er Lindafana. Da jeg begynte å undervise på skolen der, hadde jeg, som kjent for dere som har fulgt med her på den stille bloggen, 80 unger i hver klasse. For en som ikke er vant til å ha SÅ mange afrikanere samlet på ett brett, tok det LAAAAANG tid før jeg begynte å lære navn og ikke minst hvilket ansikt navnet hørte til..! Så ble jo klassene delt, og det begynte å hjelpe på navnelæringen! J I april, mai en gang begynte jeg å legge merke til at det var en som het Lindafana som var borte fra skolen så mye at jeg trodde til slutt at han hadde sluttet. Men så dukket han plutselig opp igjen..! På spørsmål om grunnen til fraværet, fikk jeg vite at moren hans nettopp var død… Han hadde allerede mistet faren sin, og nå satt de fem barn tilbake uten foreldre. Tårene sto i øynene hans. Han er liten og tynn av vekst. Ingen i huset jobber, heller ikke tanten som bor over veien, så det er sjelden mat i huset. For to-tre uker siden ba jeg han ta med seg til skolen fødselsattestene til han og søsknene, og dødsattestene til foreldrene. Vi tok kopi, og etter skolen tok jeg han med meg til et lite senter ikke langt fra skolen. Det er et lite dropp-inn-senter, som har middag til foreldreløse og som har gruppe for bestemødre som er blitt mødre til sine barnebarn, etc. Der kan foreldreløse registrere seg, og motta pr. mnd. x kilo med ris, bønner, sukker, matolje, en tube tannkrem, osv. inntil det er opprettet en forsørger for de som kan motta penger fra staten. Lindafana er en av de som kvalifiserer til denne støtten, og så får vi se hvem som kvalifiserer til å oppnevnes som forsørger… Nok ett bønneemne! Lindafana er blitt sett av flere av lærerne ved skolen, og det er godt. Han kommer ofte sulten til skolen om morgenen, og det er ikke rart, for maten han får fra dropp-inn-senteret må jo deles med de fire andre – og varer neppe en hel mnd.! Jeg merker at hver gang jeg gir litt oppmerksomhet og en hånd på skulderen – litt kjærlighet, så suges det opp som vann av en tørr svamp..! Lindafana har et sterkt savn etter moren sin…

Her kommer litt bilder...

Klasserommet på barneskolen som vi leier til Landshakers Church er gjort klart til første gudstjenesten!

Dette er Praiswell, og han passer til navnet sitt så til de grader, og han er med i den samme disippelgruppa som Zanele er med i. Han går i 12.klasse, og har verden for sine føtter! Hans største ønske er å leve til Gud's ære! :)














Dette er Wandi, og hun er også med i disippelgruppa vår. 12.klassing, som tar ekstra matteundervisning på universitetet på lørdager - for å få et bra vitnemål! Hun er en skikkelig skrue, som liker å finne på historier og småslenge litt med leppa - på tull! :)) Helt herlig!











Her er de yngre samlet for seg i et annet klasserom. De har også lovsang på storskjerm, og de DIGGER det!!! :)
Mange fra cellegruppa mi er med og leder barnearbeidet i Landshakers Church, og det er fantastisk gøy med en gruppe med så involverte og hengitte folk! Dette er brobygging mellom kulturer og hudfarger - på høyt og lavt plan! :)







Tema for den yngste gruppa var at Jesus er den ultimate superhelt - ingen over, ingen ved siden!
I den anledning hadde Damien kledd seg ut som Supermann! Ungene digget det!!!
Og vi digget han! :D












Her er de som kom første søndagen. Noen av jentene fra skolen min og noen til. Vi var 25-30 pers. i den "voksne" delen av Landshakers Church - ikke helt det antallet jeg hadde trodd og håpet på, for å være helt ærlig...
Vær gjerne med og be om at vi skal klare å kommunisere til og å nå ungdommene der de er, at vi ikke skal stå i veien for Gud med våre måter å gjøre ting på. Be om at Gud må gi oss visdom og ydmykhet til å gå Hans vei! :)
Vi vet at det er helt i oppstarten og at vi må regne med at det vil ta tid før noe nytt er etablert både i tankene og hukommelsen deres, men også i landsbyen der.

New friends. New horizons. Nye venner. Nye horisonter.

This term I have attended an Alpha course in the church I go to. I thought: “Hey, that’s a good place to get to know more people!” I also brought a good friend and colleague a couple of nights. She is part of the Zionist Church here in South Africa, where they teach both the Bible and worship of the ancestors, so she really needs to learn more about what the Bible says about Christian living!

Dette semesteret har jeg gått på Alpha-kurs i kirken jeg går til. Jeg tenkte at det var en glimrende måte å bli kjent med nye folk på! Jeg har også hatt med meg en god venn og kollega et par kvelder. Hun tilhører et sørafrikansk kirkesamfunn som heter Zionist Church. Der lærer de både Bibelen og tilbedelse av forfedrene, så hun trenger å lære mer om hva Bibelen sier om kristen tro og liv!

Well, I have been part of a really awesome group, and I have gotten to know some great people! We have had dinner at church, then watched the teachings of Nicky Gumbel on big screen, and after that discussed the teaching in small groups. Good times! One Saturday evening most of us went out for Ten Pin Bowling and a coffee! Again, excellent way to get to know people!

Vel, jeg har vært med i en skikkelig bra gruppe, og blitt kjent med noen veldig ålreite folk! Vi har begynt kveldene med middag i kirken, deretter undervisningen til Nicky Gumbel på storskjerm, og så har vi diskutert undervisningen i grupper etterpå. Veldig bra kvelder! En lørdag dro flere av oss ut og bowlet og kaffe etterpå! Igjen, en veldig ålreit måte å bli kjent med nye folk på!

Last weekend we went away to a holiday resort a couple of hours down the south coast. We stayed in chalets and had all our meals made for us! Luxury! This weekend we had teaching on the Holy Spirit. Many high expectations for that weekend, and we were not disappointed! Nicky Gumbel gave a good, down to earth teaching, and Saturday evening we had prayer in our groups. God really touched many of us, and spoke to us both in our hearts and through words of wisdom through others. Three members of our group, along with about 15 others, decided it was time for them to get baptized, so early Sunday morning, 0700, we all made our way to the beach. It took dedication for them to get baptized, because it was very, very cold this morning. It was raining and there was cold wind from all sides! But they all went into the “grave” and was “risen to live with Jesus”!

Forrige helg dro vi avsted til et feriested ett par timer sørover langs kysten. Vi bodde i hytter (små leiligheter)og fikk alle måltidene servert! Hvilken luksus! Denne helgen hadde vi undervisning om den Hellige Ånd. Mange hadde høye forventninger, og de ble ikke skuffet! Nicky Gumbel gav en bra, jordnær undervisning, og lørdagskveld ba vi for hverandre i gruppene. Gud rørte hjertene til flere av oss, og talte til oss enten direkte i hjertene våre eller gjennom visdomsord fra andre. Tre medlemmer i gruppa vår, i likhet med ca 15 andre, fant ut at nå var tiden de ville døpe seg. Så tidlig søndagsmorgen, 0700, gikk vi ned til stranda. Det krevde overbevisning fra denne gjengen, for det var (faktisk!) veldig kaldt denne morgenen! Det regnet og blåste nordavind fra alle kanter! Men de gikk i ”graven” og ”sto opp for å leve med Jesus”!

We also had a few hours during Saturday afternoon to just hang out. Then most of us went down to the beach. The South Africans LOVE their beaches! They go as often as they can, to hang, surf, swim, watch the waves or watch the people surfing! The South Africans also love rugby! So a great group of them spent an hour playing what it called touch rugby, a very mild form of the normally pretty brutal sport! I tried my luck with “boulles”, a French ball game for old men…

Vi hadde også noen timer ledig lørdag ettermiddag til å bare være sosiale. Da gikk de fleste av oss ned til stranda. Sørafrikanere ELSKER strendene sine! De drar til stranda så ofte som de kan, for å bare henge, surfe, bade, se på bølgene eller se på de som surfer! Sørafrikanere elsker rugby, også! Så en god gjeng spilte det de kaller ”touch rugby”, hvor de ikke går hardt inn i taklinger som i vanlig rugby, men spiller MYE mildere! Jeg prøvde lykken med ”boulles”, et ballspill for gamle menn…

All in all a VERY good weekend, both spiritually and socially.

Alt i alt en VELDIG god helg, bade åndelig og sosialt.

New Times... :) Nye Tider... :)

A lot has happened since last time I wrote, both in my life and in South Africa. I'll try to give a short up date, let's see how far we get...

Mye har hendt siden jeg skrev noe som helst her på bloggen min, både med meg og her i Sør-Afrika ellers. Jeg skal prøve å gi en liten oppdatering, så får vi se hvor langt jeg kommer.. :)


New classes. Nye klasser.

Last time I wrote I had monster grade 8 classes of 80 kids in one class. At the end of April we were able to start using 5 new class rooms in the new school building just up the road from where we are now. The 4 grade 10 were moved up there, and that released more rooms for the other classes, and we could now split the 2 monster grade 8 into 4 classes of 40 kids. Compared to Norwegian standards (and actually South African school regulations) that is still a lot of kids in one class, but when I'm used to 80, this was a VERY nice change! I then became the form educator (class teacher) for 8C! :)


Sist jeg skrev hadde jeg to monsterklasser på 8.trinn med 80 unger i hver. I slutten av April kunne vi begynne å bruke 5 klasserom i den nye skolebygningen rett oppe i veien fra der vi er nå. 4 klasser på 10.trinn flyttet opp dit, noe som førte til at 4 klasserom ble frigjort til andre klasser, og vi kunne dele de to store 8.klassene i to så vi fikk fire klasser på 40 unger. Det er fortsatt mange unger, både i forhold til norske standarer og sør-afrikansk skolelov, men når jeg er vandt til 80 var det en FANTASTISK forandring! Jeg ble da klassestyrer for klasse 8C! :)


Many class rooms look like a rubbish dump! The kids throw their litter everywhere! And there is no bin in the class rooms. They don't take pride or ownership in how their school looks, because the whole village don't expect anything from them... So I decided I wanted to try to teach my class some of that. I told them: "Let's try to have the nicest class room at the school!" I bought a nice green plastic bin to keep in the class room. When I brought it to school, the other staff members asked me what I was going to do with the bin, and I said it was for the class room of 8C. "No, you are wasting your money! They are going to steal it!" (There is A LOT of stealing at the school!) I told my class what sme of the teachers had said to me, that they expected them to just steal it, and that they all had to take responsibillity for the bin, that it remained in the class room. One girl got the responsibility to get it from me in the morning and bring it back to me in the afternoon. It still works, and it is now three weeks! Now the kids use the bin! We also stayed behind after school one Friday afternoon and scrubed our class room, ceiling, walls and floor! most of the kids stayed behind and helped out, and I had bought juice and cookies for us to enjoy when the job was done! From being a dump of a class room, we now have the nicest class room at the school, and more important - the kids take pride in it and responsibillity! :)))

Mange klasserom ser ut som en søppelhaug! Ungene kaster søppel overalt! Stolene sine, også… De har ingen stolthet og tar ingen eierskap i hvordan det ser ut på skolen deres, ganske enkelt fordi ingen forventer noe som helst av de… Så jeg bestemte meg for å prøve å lære de litt av nettopp det, stolthet og eierskap. Jeg sa til de: ”La oss prøve å få det klasserommet vårt til å bli det fineste på hele skolen!” Jeg kjøpte en fin, grønn søppelbøtte som vi skulle ha i klasserommet. Da jeg kom med den på skolen, spurte kollegaene mine hva jeg skulle med den. Jeg sa at den skulle vi ha i 8C. ”Nei, nei! Du kaster bort pengene dine! De kommer til å stjele den!” (Det er MYE stjeling på skolen!) Jeg fortalte klassen min hva noen av lærerne hadde sagt, at de forventet at de kom til å stjele den. Så ga jeg beskjed om at ALLE måtte ta ansvar for bøtta, at den ble i klasserommet. En jente fikk i oppgave å hente den hver morgen og gi den tilbake til meg når skoledagen var over. Det funker enda, og nå har det gått tre uker! Ungene bruker søppelbøtta, selv om de må minnes på det av og til… Gammel vane vond å venne! En fredag ettermiddag var vi igjen på skolen etter skoletid og skrubbet hele klasserommet vårt Vi tok for oss tak, vegger og gulv. De fleste ungene ble igjen. Jeg hadde kjøpt saft og kjeks som vi kunne nyte etterpå når jobben var gjort! Så fra å se ut som en søppelfylling, har vi nå det fineste klasserommet på skolen, og det viktigste – ungene tar stolthet i det og ansvar!

The pictures are before, during and after the big clean up!

Bildene er tatt før, underveis og etter den store vaskedagen!

Thanks! TAKK!! :)

Thanks be to the genious Johnny Wills and his family :) I am now back to bogging!
I HAVE MY TOOL BAR BACK!!!!

Takket være datageniet Johnny Wills og hans familie :) er jeg tilbake på bloggen!
JEG HAR FÅTT TILBAKE VERKTØYLINJA MI!!!!

Waterloo Secodary School :))

English first. Norsk er skrevet i kursiv! :)

This is me at my work place in the staff room. The red and white TYPEK-boxes work as my own little filing “system”. He-he! I have no shelves… Most of the stuff to the right in the picture is stuff left from last year, from another teacher who had this place before me.
Dette er meg ved min arbeidsplass på stabsrommet. De røde og hvite eskene fungerer som mitt eget lille fil-system, et forsøk på å holde litt orden i sakene… Mesteparten av det som er på bordet bak meg til høyre i bildet, ligger igjen fra en annen lærer som hadde plassen min i fjor…

This is one of a total of 7 buildings at the school. This is the longest one, called the train, with 8 class rooms, one staff/class room, the office and a small copy room. 3 of the other buildings are small toilet buildings, 2 more class room buildings and one staff room building. In the back ground you can see part of the village where the kids live. Behind the hill is Waterloo Primary School, a very nice school with a huge amphi theatre in the school yard.
Dette er en av I alt 7 bygninger på skolen. Dette er den lengste, kalt toget, med 8 klasserom, 1 stabs-/klasserom, kontoret og et lite kopirom. 3 av de andre byggene er toaletter, 2 til er klasseromsbygg, og 1 er stabsbygg, hvor vi har stabsrommene med våre arbeidsstasjoner. I bakgrunnen kan dere se deler av landsbyen der mange av elevene bor. Bak åsen ligger barneskolen, som er en veldig velholdt skole med en stor amfiscene midt mellom byggene.

Me in front of one third of one of my two grades 8. I teach English in grade 8, and Life Orientation in two grades 9. In this class there are about 80 kids, and they are crammed into a normal sized class room. There are always some kids absent, and in one way it is a good thing, because it means more air (it gets EXTREEMELY hot!) and maybe enough chairs. It’s good to be small and thin in these class rooms, as space is a luxury..! I barely have space to turn around! (I’m NOT exaggerating!)
Meg foran ca 1/3-del av den ene av de to 8.klassene mine. Jeg underviser engelsk på 8.trinn, og et fag som kan oversettes med livs-mestring i to 9.klasser. I denne klassen er de ca. 80 elever, og de er stuet sammen i et klasserom på vanlig størrelse. Det er alltid noen unger som er vekke, og på én måte er det bra, for det betyr mer luft på hver (det blir SINSYKT varmt!) og kanskje nok stoler til alle. Det er bra at jeg er liten og slank i disse klasserommene, for plass er luksusvare..! Jeg har knapt plass til å snu meg, og det er IKKE en overdrivelse!

The kids LOVE the camera! Part of one of my grade 8.
Ungene ELSKER kameraet! Dette er del av den ene 8.klassen min.

More of the same grade 8. As you can see, they are really crammed together!
Flere av den samme 8.klassen. Som dere kan se, er de virkelig stuet sammen!

Here I give back a test that I they had had. Mostly grammar questions, and some comprehension tasks. As you can see, there is a big hole in the ceiling. It is creatively used as a book shelf, and there is no money to fix it… My parents were visiting that week, and came to see the school and meet my colleagues and pupils. It is my father standing to the left of the board. My mother is the one taking these pictures.
Her gir jeg tilbake en prøve de hadde hatt, med stort sett grammatikkspørsmål, men noe tekstforståelse. Som dere kan se, er det et stort hull i taket. Det blir kreativt brukt som bokhylle, og det finnes ikke penger på budsjettet til å fikse det… Mine foreldre var på besøk den uken, og kom for å se skolen og å møte kollegaene og elevene mine. Det er min far som står til venstre for tavla. Det er mamma som har tatt disse bildene.

This is where many of the kids buy their lunch. Notice the queuing system..! It is a car, a pick-up, that works as a kiosk. They sell amagwinya, also called fat-coek or even “Zulu burger”! It is a doughnuty ball, made of bread dough, fried in oil. Quite good (when still warm), quite chewy, quite filling and quite fattening! It costs about 1 rand(R) plain, and 1 R 50 if you want a slice of cheese or baloney with it!
Her kjøper mange av eleven lunsjen sin. Legg merke til køsystemet..! Det er en pick-up (bil), som fungerer som en kiosk. De seller amagwinya (meget usikker på stavemåten..), også kalt fat-coek (fettkake) eller til og med zulu-burger! Det er en slags smultring-aktig ball, lagd av loffdeig, og kokt i olje. Ganske god (når den enda er varm), ganske seig, ganske mektig og ganske fetende! (Ikke Fedon Lindberg’s førstevalg, for å si det sånn..!) Den koster 1 rand (R), og 1,50 R om du ønsker en snei med ost eller servelat til! Noen som ble sulten nå, eller..?

We also have a vegetable garden at the school, which Duduzile is in charge of. It looks a bit neglected, and that is correct… We have just started it off as a project, the Imfino (vegetable) Project, where some boys are given the responsibility for the garden, to keep it neat, grow it and harvest it. What they harvest, we will sell (with the exception of a few items that is given to some orphans), and the boys will make some money from it. It is a great motivation for them to earn some money! Through this they will learn how to keep a garden, grow vegetables, basic business skills and team work! It has just started, so not too much money has been made yet…! And not too much is growing yet, either.. !
Vi har også en grønnsakshage på skolen, som Duduzile har ansvaret for. Den ser litt glemt ut, og det stemmer nok… Vi har akkurat satt i gang et prosjekt med den, Imfino (grønnsak) Project, der noen gutter har fått ansvaret for hagen, å holde den ryddig, plante, luke og høste. Det de høster, skal vi selge (med unntak av noen grønnsaker til de foreldreløse), og guttene får tjene litt penger på det. Det er en stor motivasjonsfaktor for dem, å tjene litt penger til seg selv! Gjennom dette prosjektet vil de lære hvordan man holder en grønnsakshage, hvordan dyrke grønnsaker, litt grunnleggende forretningsdrift, som regnskap, og teamarbeid. Det har nettopp begynt, så de har ikke tjent så mye enda..! Ikke alt for mye er blitt plantet heller..!

Dudu and I (and Makosi) outside the staff room, with the ”catch of the day”, two small butternuts. Dudu is also the one who has been helping me the most, to understand A LOT about what’s going on at the school and in the culture. Priceless! And a true gift from God!!
Dudu og jeg (og Makosi) utenfor stabsrommet med dagens “fangst”, to små .. tja, noe form for gresskarlignende grønnsaker. Dudu er også den som har hjulpet meg mest med å forstå MYE av det som har med skolen og kulturen å gjøre! Uvurderlig, og en sann gave fra Gud!

My parents had collected some money in Norway, mainly from friends and my mum’s colleagues at school, to buy ring files for the kids in grade 8 and 9. We don’t have text books to give to the kids, so we make copies. I asked my kids to buy ring files at the beginning of the school year, in which they would put all the copies that I handed out to them, but most of them have not bee able to. 14 R is too much for them to spend! So thanks A LOT to every one who gave money to this! It is really, really helpful! In the end it will become their text book!
Foreldrene mine hadde samlet inn penger I Norge, stort sett fra venner og min mors lærerkollegaer, til permer til ungene mine i 8. og 9.klasse. Vi har ikke lærebøker å gi til alle elevene, og dermed blir det MYE kopier. Jeg ba elevene mine kjøpe perm i begynnelsen av skoleåret, men 14 R er for mye å bruke på det! Så TUSEN TAKK til alle som var med å gav penger til dette! Det vil være til STOR hjelp for ungene! Etter hvert blir jo permen læreboken deres!

My dad with one of my grade 9 pupils! Great kid!
Pappa med en av 9.klassingene mine! Herlig fyr!

Problems with Blogger...

I'm having problems with my blog...
I've lost my tool bar, so I can't add any pictures...!!! That means I can't show you how it looks like at my school, where I live, the game drive I went on with my folks when they were here. etc.
What is this???!!! Sabotage???
Can someone please help me???

Rugby

I have now been to two games at the "Shark Tank", more correctly the ABSA Stadium, to watch the Sharks play. First time was the opening of the series, and to be honest, I was a bit disapointed... It was a mix of rugby and tennis! Too much kicking the ball back and forward, and NOT enough wrestling! And the audience was a bit tired or absent minded or something... There was no action on the stands either! One of the guys in my Bible group plays on the team (when he's not injured..), and he said they were a bit disapointed with the audience that time. So it wasn't just me...
The second time I went, there was a lot more action, both on the field and on the stands! A friend, Carmen, and I sat right behind two couples and a little two year old girl. The guys were SHOUTING!!! I told the wife "That's called passion!", but her reply was "That's called embarrassing!!!" :))) The little two year old shouted on and off "Go Sharks!" How cute is that!
After the game the biggest BBQ, or rather Braai as it is called in South African ;), in the whole world takes place on the big fields around the stadium. A LOT of people bring their braais, camping chairs and drinks, and hang out with good friends and discuss the game and life in general :) Really nice!
And by the way, the Sharks won both games! :))) GO SHARKS!
Here are some pic's:


Pippa and me.
















A small scrum (I think it is called a scrum..)










Right before the guys go into a scrum. Fun! :)










A line up, where one throws the ball in, and the two different teams try to catch it by lifting one of their players in the air. Then they go into a face (!) where the other team tackles the team who caught the ball, by piling themselves on top of the poor guy who just got lifted..! Great fun! :D









After fighting the ball ovet the far line, the team can convert (no, not religion...). it means to kick the ball between these two poles and get another two points! Good fun!

Back to school.., or not?

Last time I told you guys what was going on, was after the riot, or rather the demonstrations, started on Monday. Now it is Friday afternoon, and this is what has happened:
Tuesday when I arrived at school, there were hardly anyone there. A couple of teachers were sitting in the staff room, and we were all wondering what was happening... Was there going to be school or demonstrations? Some students had told me the day before that they would be demonstrating also on Tuesday, but who knew what would really happen...
Then all of a sudden one teacher comes running, saying we must just all leave. A parent had told him that the students were going to come after him and his car, and set them both on fire! So we went to the circuit office 20 mins away from the school. That is where head of department is, and here we could present our case to the right people (whoever they are.., some leader of the schools in the area). So that is where we, all the teachers, remained for most of the day. Fortunately I had some school work in the car, so I could get a little bit of work done.
In the mean time the kids were burning more tyres and having confrontations with the police! This time the police had probably used all their tear gass, 'cause now they started shooting at the kids with rubber bullets!!! That is just insane and pure paranoia!!! If the police cannot stop the kids from demonstrating, they should just control them, use these plastic sheilds if they are throwing stones at them!!! The police are there to protect and control, NOT to attac!!! They are CHILDREN, for crying out loud!!! This is NOT the way to teach them! Some of the kids had to go to the clinick after the whole ordeal!
Well, we were over at the circuit office not knowing what was going on! So I prayed! And I prayed some more! And then I prayed again! At the end of the day, we decided to have a prayer meeting the next day! So Wednesday prayed for the kids, the police, for the school, for the new building to be errected, for teh ones in charge of the whole building project, for the ones sitting on the bag of money, and so on!
Later I got an sms, saying that we would be gong back to school and teaching the next day, Thursday. Yee-ha! :)
I only teach one period on Thursdays (so far, new timetable next week), and I was looking forward to it! The 9B that is normally 62 pupils were reduced to 16!!! How nice is that! ;) For once we could have a little discussion! But what had happened to the other 46?? Hadn't word gotten around to them that there would be school again? Who knows? Today, Friday, they were still just 16. Two girls came to me asking if I could not come to their class again, 'cause they were so few also today. They must have liked having actual teaching instead of "crowd control"..! ;) How about that! :))) My kids! :D I told them that if there was another period where the teacher didn't show up, which happenes ALL the time because no-one is filling in for those who are absent, they must come and get me! the next thing that happenes is that all my 8A-pupils are leaving the school!!! It's 20 mins before I'm going to teach them about uncountable nouns, and they are just leaving.., along with all the other pupils f the school!!! I asked them why they were leaving, but all they could say was "I don't know..", or "This one, mam...!", pointing at a fellow pupil as to say that he had said it was time to go home...
I come to the staff room, where I found out that the vice principal had just called it a day, just like that..! She had told the pupils, but not the staff... So we all go home, which is nice, but it also means that we have lost yet one more precious period of teaching...
Just hang in there, Mon!!!

Tonight I'm going to my very first live rugby game!!! I'm gonna watch the Sharks, last year's winner of the series, play against the Western Force! Should be a GREAT game! I've been told... Watching a whole bunch of big guys hugging each other, (literally) pulling each others croaches, and running like a maniac! Will take pic's!!! :)))

Peace and Love

Riot!

Today we had a demonstration at the school, or rather just outside the gates of the school!

Let me give you some back ground info:
For a while now, the authorities have expanded the township (the vilage), which means more cildren. One thing that they had "forgotten" when they built a lot of these houses, was that children need to go to school! The only high school in that area, was Waterloo Secondary School. They have not expanded that along with the rest of the township.

In 2005 they started building a new school for us just up the hill from where we are. They started with 6 classrooms, and were supposed to bulid 6 more each year. That means there should be 18 classrooms there now, acording to my calculations...
Still just the first 6...

As I told you in my previous repport, we don't have enough rooms for all our classes. It is unbearable for the teachers, but even more so for the pupils! They spend every period in there!!! So they have had enough! Who can blame them??!! Seriously..!!!

So what they did today, was to go outside the gate of the school, and they set fire to several tyres! Massive, black smoke..!!! They were shouting and dansing and marching and singing! Then the ones outside the gate started throwing stones at the pupils still on the inside, because they should come out and join them! Nice invitation.. ;) A couple of cars got hit (Piet's BMW was not one of them), and I believe one of the pupils.., no serious injuri, though!

After a while they came marching/dansing (the Africans never march - they dance!) through the gate and over to the staffroom, where most of the teachers were "hiding"! They were shouting their slogans and waving their posters. That's when I got worried things would get out of hand... So I sent sms's to some prayer warriors, and the pupils "danced" their way back out through the gate! Just that second...

The police came to bring the crowd under control, since it was an "ilegal demonstration"... They did well until they started shooting at them with tear gass! Tear gass at children down to the age of 13!!! I'm shocked! Again!
Finally the pupils got tired of everything, assembled at the ground to give instructions about the demonstration tomorrow, and then went on their way...

I support their cause! Really! But the problem is, they are still a bunch of teenagers and it can easilly "snap" and go terribly wrong...!!!
I told them they must make a petition to take to the whole community to sign. It's their kids, so they should care! Then we would bring a newspaper reporter, and take all the lists to the office of those responsible! And lay down our claims!!!

I hope and pray tomorrow will go well, with no personal injury and no material damage...
And for those you who pray, please join me!

And by the way, I'm moving in to my little grannyflat (hopefully) next weekend! So ahead of time, for once...!! :)))

Love to all, and peace!

Mosquitoes and elephants...

I have already had too many encounters with mossies (mosquitoes) in this country, mostly at night. They somehow mannage to find their way in the dark, and they have NOT been invited! They leave marks like elephants, but I have yet to see a real elephant! I guess I should be glad they don't find their way in the dark... :) I will make my way, not in the dark however, but over Easter to a game park (safaripark, for dere nordmenn) a couple hours north of Durban. My parents come to visit, so I thought I should introduce them to some of the natives ;)

Since last time I wrote something on my blog, a lot has happened:

- Paul and Cecilie got maried :)

- Piet, a good friend, lend me his BMW

- I moved in with the Addisons, a WONDERFUL family

- I started working!!!

- I decided to move into the Jensen's grannyflat (at the end of Feb.)

- I decided to buy a Toyota!

Let me tell you all about it:

The Wedding.

It was a wonderful day, January 26. I put on my nicest dress, tried to get control over my hair, put on my stilleto's, and took off. Cecilie had spent even more time, and had professional help, and looked absolutely gorgeous!!! Paul didn't look too bad either! ;)

It was a wonderful day! The ceremony was nice, the first reception was also nice, with lots of nicely dressed friends and good food and good speaches, and the dinner reception was also nice. Even more good food! :D

Finally they are married, enough e-mailing between Norway and South Africa! Thank God!

The Car.

I am truly blessed! With good friends who have good cars! :D Only a few days after I arrived, I told my good friend Piet that I was picking up a rental car the following day. He said: "No, don't waste money on a rental car! I have an extra car sitting in my garage, waiting for some parts, and to be sold..! You can use that untill you get your own! It's a BMW.., I hope you don't mind?!" Who said missionary life has to be glamourless???!! ;)

The Addisons.

Because Cecilie's family was coming down for the wedding, Paul and Cecilie kicked me out of their flat...!!! True friends.. Ha-ha! Paul's mom, Rosemary, had found another place for me to stay, namely at the Addison's recidence! And to be totally honest, no offence Paul and Cecilie, I prefere staying here! :) The 4 Addisons have totally included me in their family, I can come home to a prepared dinner, I get my laundry done, they have a wireless broadband internet connection - and a puppy! His name is Bino! It will be a bit sad moving out at the end of the month..! :(

I started working.

My first day at work, at Waterloo Secondary School, was Tuesday January 15. I was told by the principal to meet up at 0730. That's when teachers are required to be there. Not being a mornig person, I dreaded the thought, but knew it was probably going to be like this... I'm there on time, but no-one else..., not even the principal. He shows up around 0900 :) That's African time for ya! He has now gotten SO much better, and I have started to slack...

The whole first week is, for me - a first-timer with SO many things there, totally caotic! The pupils were supposed to come before the end of lat school year, in December, to register (sign up for the school and the class), but most of them come now. And they keep coming the next week, as well... Yesterday, Friday February 8, I got another new pupil in one of my classes!

I have started to learn some names, or rather practice the pronounciation of names, but I still have no idea who these names belong to... I'm telling you, Zulu names are REALLY difficult for a Norwegian. The really cool thing about them, though, is that they all mean something. One means "Our family has increased", another "Mother of education", another "The one who brings blessing", and yet anohter " We have had enough"!

Discipline is close to non-existant. The kids are read the rules, and several teachers cary a stick, as is custom in rural Africa, but there is no consequence severe enough to make the children obey. I thought the children had much more respect for their teachers here, but oh, how wrong I was!!!

I am teaching English in grade 8 and Life Orientation in grade 9. The 2 grade 8, were suposed to be A, B and C. However, because we don't have enough rooms at the school for the amount of pupils, they merged and made A and B. This means I have (flippin') 75 kids in each class! I don't have to convince you that it becomes like a sauna in those classrooms! With 30 degrees outside, close to no wind blowing through and no fan in the ceiling, it is close to unbearable! Not so much for me as for the pupils, who sit as close as fish in a barrel! It is litterally PACKED in those rooms! Not at all ideal for teaching! So the kids struggle to concentrate, they start talking to each other, some fall asleep, some get a head ache, and it is boiling in my head! On top of that comes the fact that they don't know me, I don't know them, they are not at all used to hearing ONLY English in English class, and they have not learned to put up their hand if they want to say something! Need I say more..?

However, a few weeks have passed, we have had some cooler days, we're starting to get to know each other. I've also had the vice principal coming in to tell them, in a very authorative way, that they need to behave. (That was the short version!) That sure helps!

There are MANY things that are different. Some things are just that - different, but other things could very well change! I have tried to walk quietly (can u say that in English?), and not to burst out with all my wonderful ideas, but just go and have a little chat with the principal. And my contributions are "HIGHLY appreciated!" One thing that I have done, is to donate notice boards to the staff room, so that information can be given to all staff in a clear and easy way! Still waiting for the care taker to put them up...! ;)

My collegues have welcomed me in such an awesome way! I feel very safe there, like one of the staff, and I can ask them and talk to them about ANYTHING! It's a gratefull thing for a newly educated teacher, from a different culture, different climate, different language, different mindset... God is SO faithful!

New adress and new car.

I have decided to rent a little flat on the other side of the pool from paul's parents. It is perfect for a young, good looking woman like my self, and I will have my South African "parents" just across the lawn! It's even bigger than my own flat in Bergen... If I could have 19 people in my flat at home, I'll be able to invite at least 40 people to this one!! :))) We'll have a pool-party! As I mentioned, who says missionary life has to be glamourless..??!!!

I will also get my very first own car. it's a slightly scary feeling, but I'm a big girl! :) I need a car to get around here, and to get to and from work. I will show you a picture when I have it in my posession! ;))

Well, that was a long report.., but a LOT has happened! Read one paragraph each day, if it's too much at once! :))

As you can see, I am really fine! :)) Altough it can be tough at school sometimes, I still like it, and I'm not ready to quit just yet..! God is SO, SO faithful and loving! He REALLY is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides! I have been taken SO well care of by so many people here. They ask me how I am doing, ask me over for coffee and lunch, and want to pray for me and my work! Being a child of God, I have SUCH a HUGE, HUGE family! When my own family and friends are far away, God provides! Glory to Him!

Alright, going out to get some food!

Have a good weekend everybody!

Love

Started!!!

Hi, everyone!
I know some of you wonder how things are going, so here's a small up-date:
I arrived in Jo'burg late Wednesday January 9, and had already lost one bag on my way... (It was left in Amsterdam..) At the airport I was met by my good friend Ross. And thank God for that! In all my busyness of getting ready to leave Norway, I had forgotten to write down the details on the guest house I was spending the night. Ross tried to phone phonedirectory - no luck! We asked tourist information - no luck! We found a business who was willing to let me go on-line, but then the internett was shut down...! In the end, I was able to get my sister-in-law to go on the internett for me, and over the phone give me the details. Then I could call the guest house, have Ross get the directions to the place an doff we went! ...and got lost! In Jo'burg at 2300 at night! Someone was praying for us, because all went well in the end, we found the place eventually!
The next day, as I arrived in Durban, I was met by my good friend from Norway, Cecilie, who is getting married down here!!! I joined her and her fiance', Paul, over the weekend, visiting some friends of them and going to a big dam. Sunday night we went to church, and I met my cell group! SO nice! They are just an awesome bunch of people!!! I tell one of them that I have to get a rental car for about a week or so, and he says "No, don't! You can use my extra car for as long as you need! It's just sitting in my garage..." What a blessing!
Still looking for a place to settle in, as I'm staying with Cecilie and Paul for the time being!
Today I started work! VERY different from Norwegian schools, but the kids are still the same! Teaching starts tomorrow! Excited! Will be teaching English in three grade 8, and Life Skills in one grade 9.
Well, gotta run! Having coffee with one of my cell group friends!

All stuffed again... (Norsk i kursiv..)

Christmas is over - again!

We have, most of us, stuffed ourselves like a turky ready for roasting...

My Christmas was good! ;) Allthough it was not a white Christmas, we still had a lot of Christmas inside! Lots of candles, angels and other decorations!

I spent most of my time being super-auntie for my wounderful niese and nephew. We played and made this great ginger-bread castle!!! Since I'm moving to South Africa, I won't see them in a year and I had to say "Good bye" for a longer time than I normally do.. Saying "Good bye" has never been easy for me... Thank God for Skype, msn and telephones! And PLANES!

New Year was spent with good friends having good food! :D

Josh and I were the super cheffs, with good handy help from the rest!

Still no snow..., but who needs snow anyway! (Trying to comfort myself...)

Jula er over nok en gang!
De fleste av oss er fortsatt stappa, som en stakkars kalkun klar for ovnen! ;)
Jula mi var veldig bra! Selv om det ikke ble en hvit Jul, hadde vi masse Jul inne! Masse lys, engler og annen julepynt!
Jeg tilbragte jula som super-tante til mine to tantebarn. Vi lekte og lagde pepperkake-borg! Siden jeg skal flytte til Soer-Afrika, maatte jeg si "Ha-det" for en lengre periode enn jeg vanligvis gjoer... Si "Ha-det" har aldri vaert lett for meg... Takk Gud for Skype, msn, telefoner og ikke minst fly!!!
NyttAar feiret jeg sammen med gode venner, og MEGET god mat!! (Jostein og jeg var superkokker, og med god hjelp fra de andre..!)
Fortsatt ikke noe hvitt paa bakken, men jeg er jo paa vei til Afrika uansett! :D